Happiness
by Katy5219
Summary: S4. Two relationships blossom simultaneously through the strangest of teams. DE/SC. Damon & Caroline POV.


**AN:** Hello there, gentle readers! This oneshot is dedicated to Lianne and Wendell. Lianne was the one who gave me the inspiration for it, by linking me to an AU gifset with Damon and Caroline made by Wendell. Wendell's Tumblr is "sclovefest" and the name of the gifset in question is "AU: Team Daroline - Part I « The team is formed »" I'd post an exact link, but this stupid site will just erase it anyway lol. Anywho, I think it'll be relatively easy to find, and I used a lot of the quotes from said gifset in a scene for this oneshot, so it might be cool to check it out :) Also, Lianne goes by the name of "Delenawhore" on Tumblr, do check her out if you like pretty things.

This is basically a shifting POV between Damon and Caroline, set somewhere in S4. I brushed past a lot of the mythology and cliffhanger questions set at the end of S3, because frankly, I don't think even these writers understand their own lore lol! I couldn't be bothered with it. If you're a person that desperately looks for such explanations from a canon fic, this one just isn't for you. Also, this is equal parts DE and SC. If you have a problem with either one, this really just isn't the fic for you lol.

I rarely write canon, because I feel the show itself is so uninspiring right now, but I made an exception, because I still have mad love for both of these pairings, and I wanted to try and fix some of the mess left behind by the writers.

Anyway, I really hope someone likes this, despite how random it is :) *Tackle hugs*

* * *

Klaus is dead. So is Tyler. Bonnie's...gone. To where, no one's quite sure, but Damon's positive she's on a quest to "find herself" or whatever, after her little stint to the dark side. Not everyone can handle the kind of darkness she dealt with. People crack under pressure, that much he's always known. They fold. Not Elena, though. Not his Elena.

Elena's dead too. Damon chuckles to himself coldly. Who wasn't these days? Well, Elena was undead, much to her chagrin. The girl was young, romantic, and naive in all the ways he wasn't anymore. She'd seen death as a better option. Well, she'd bet on the right Salvatore then. Damon orders another shot of bourbon from the bartender.

Stefan had let her drown. Damon still hadn't come to terms with it, not even after he smashed his brother's face in. He could still remember the shock he'd felt when she pushed him off her boyfriend. He'd watched as Elena embraced Stefan, and he'd left, walking into the night alone. He was always alone. All he had were hypotheticals. Maybe if he'd met her first (he had, but pointing that out is petty, and that kind of behavior is reserved for Stefan). Maybe if his little brother didn't exist. Maybe if someone deemed him worthy to be loved. Maybe.

As he downs drink after drink, he wonders why he's bothered to stay in town. No one here needs him, he reminds himself for the umpteenth time. Elena loves Stefan, just as she's always loved him, and Damon loves her. If Stefan is who she wants to be with, he'll support that. Even if it kills him, he'll make sure she'll get her happy ending. Suddenly, he doesn't have to wonder anymore, the reasons for staying in town crystallizing in his mind. He really is love's bitch, through and through, he muses.

Ric is dead too. Damon inspects the shot glass in his hand, remembering the better times. The ones inbetween him killing Isobel and Alaric dying. The times when they were friends, laughing, sharing stories. Alaric hadn't approved of his existence, not really, but they had reached a begrudging respect towards each other. It was as good a friendship as he could ever hope for. And it was gone.

Sage had never been a proper friend. The bitch was conniving, not to the Katherine degree of things, but untrustworthy. She'd been more interested in power and control, than actual affection. Well, at least towards him. It wasn't as if anyone ever chose him. He's shaken from his gloomy thoughts as he feels a presence near him. It's a tingling sensation, and he can hear his own blood. Singing in her veins.

The blonde walks slowly through the bar. She used to skip, Damon remembers. Way back when they were still going steady (he rolls his eyes at the thought), Caroline Forbes skipped, pranced, and danced through her life. It's what had drawn him towards her, she'd looked like a lot of fun. She isn't the same girl anymore. She is a shell of that person, wracked with guilt and sorrow.

Caroline spots him across the room and freezes. He wants to glare at her. He isn't the Boogeyman. He isn't going to attack her (not these days, Elena wouldn't approve), and he isn't looking to yell either. There's plenty of blame to be passed around, but he likes to place it on Stefan and Bonnie's shoulders, mostly. They both had the power to change things, to make things right. They hadn't. Fuck them.

Caroline takes a few tentative steps forward. Damon calculates the distance between them. She needs to take 23 more steps, and he highly doubts she can hold it together that long. As usual, though, he underestimates her, because step after step, she advances on him, her head held high. At least she still has her pride, it's one of the things he's always liked about her. She has dignity. It makes up for her lack of common sense.

"Caroline."

* * *

Caroline gasps involuntarily as he acknowledges her presence. He sounds bored as usual, as if resisting the urge to shoo her away is causing him physical pain. Unsurprisingly, he's drinking again. It doesn't surprise her, noon or not, he always did like his bourbon.

She gives him a small smile as she sits down on a stool beside him. "Damon."

"Shouldn't you be at school?"

Caroline shrugs. "I'm sick."

"With what?" She can hear the curiosity tainting his voice. They're all curious about her. Then again, they're all curious about him too.

She bites her lip. "Sick of being there."

"Well aren't you original. Next thing I know, you'll be listening to My Chemical Romance and smoking pot with Jeremy."

"Oh please." Caroline rolls her eyes. "Weed is gross. Besides, Jeremy doesn't do that anymore, the smell bugs..."

"Big sis with her new spidey senses." Damon chuckles. "Not that I blame her, that crap really does stink. And you can never get the smell out of your carpet."

Caroline shrugs helplessly. So much has changed in the past few months. No, she amends, very little has changed, but everything feels different. Stefan and Elena are still together. Jeremy is still heartbroken, but what else is new? She and Damon...That's harder to pinpoint. She and Damon are the odd men out, the fringe members of their little Mystic Falls freakshow.

She had figured it out at Tyler's funeral. She watched him watch Elena, as she herself watched Tyler's coffin get lowered into his grave. She remembers crying for Tyler, for the unfulfilled potential their relationship had, and crying for everything else. She remembers feeling like the lowest scum of the earth when she cried for herself.

Caroline motions for the bartender, and orders a beer, flashing her eyes dangerously at the guy behind the counter. She takes a sip of her commoner's drink, and relishes the way it goes down smoothly. Going down memory lane gets her thirsty. It's not like she's too proud of herself.

She deserved it all, she ponders. She deserved to lose her father, Tyler, Bonnie...Hell, she brought this on herself. She understands Elena a bit more now, understands her uppity martyr behavior. If she could go back in time...If she could slap herself, and prevent Klaus from dragging all their lives into hell for her, she would. Tyler is dead because of her. She could've seen it earlier, she could've...

"There's nothing you could've done." Damon interrupts her train of throught.

Caroline looks at him in shock. "Get out of my head!"

Damon rolls his eyes. "You are as transparent as you are blonde. Stop wearing your emotions on your face, it's what you gets into these messes."

"And what's that supposed mean?" She glares at him. She knows she shouldn't ask, because asking Damon for anything is just a fancy way of begging to get punched in the gut. Goading him will only get him to lash out. She has faint bite marks on her neck to prove it.

Damon smirks, before downing the rest of his drink. "It's simple, really. Klaus spots you, and immediately sees you for who you are; the weak link. He toys with your emotions, appeals to your vanity, and gives you just enough excitement to make you clamor for more. And you see nothing."

Her heart jumps into her throat, as hot tears roll from the corners of her eyes. "You don't know what you're talking about."

He grins as he looks at her point blank. "Oh but I do. You're here to be best friends with me now that Stefan and Elena are cuddled up, and Matt's too disgusted to look at you. He knows what I know. You knew it wasn't Tyler, and you let him use you, because you loved the attention, you stupid little girl. And now you're here so we can be loners together, and talk about all the ways we've been kicked in the head lately. Sorry, I'll pass."

Caroline smiles at him through her tears. She's a cheerleader for crying out loud, she can smile her way through anything. "You're wrong."

"About what?"

"I'm not here to bond." Caroline says firmly. "I don't want a new BFF, and if I did, you wouldn't be my first choice. I'm here to bring you this."

She opens her small clutch, and pulls out the tattered envelope. Elena had given it to her with shaky hands, and she'd promised to deliver it. Not that she had to promise. She owes Elena for most things, and spending time with the one person willing to be honest with her is a great way to start cleaning her slate.

Caroline slides the letter over to him, and she doesn't miss the way his eyes widen at the familiar handwriting on the top. She wants to laugh. Sometimes she thinks Elena made the wrong choice. The way Damon's love radiates from him is incredible. It lights up his entire being, she muses. When she looks at him in moments like these, she sees Elena, and she sees his humanity. Sometimes she can't see the distinction.

"What is this?" He asks quietly.

Caroline shrugs. "You'd have to open it to find out. Like I said, I'm not here to bond."

She finishes her beer with a rather unladylike gulp, and hops off her stool. Composing herself, just as she always does, she gives him one last smile. "Damon, I don't want to be your friend, and you don't want to be mine...But I am here, you know? Desperate times and all."

She doesn't blame him for things he said. He doesn't feel that way, but she does, and if she can take the blame to make him feel better, she can do that. That's what he always did. She understands him, and he just might hate her for it, but she can't bring herself to care.

Caroline gives him one last nod, and starts walking away. Softly, she hears him call out her name. "Yes?"

He doesn't look back at her, but she sees his shoulders tremble with exhaustion. "Thank you."

She shrugs flippantly. "You're welcome. Now go home and take a shower, you stink."

For the first time in a few months, she grins, feeling as if she's gained some control. Granted, her control comes from insulting her 170-year old sire's hygiene, and she'll probably find a horse's head in her bed later, but she'll take it. She needs this. They might be lost to the rest of the world, but they're lost together, whether or not he'd like to admit that. It's a start, she thinks.

* * *

Damon groans in frustration as he sits on his bed. Two months. Two fucking months, he's waited for her, and this is what she does? Sends him snail mail? He rolls his eyes in exasperation. It's been a week and he still hasn't opened the damn thing. He can't decide if he's being stubborn or cautious. Both are valid theories.

"'Dear Damon, I like you a lot and I'm pretty sure you're better in bed than Stefan, but I love him and I'll always love him. Take care.'" He mimics the perfection of her voice to the best of his ability. It doesn't bring him any comfort. It brings up resentment; towards her for making him depend on her as he does, and towards himself for letting another woman close to him. He's not sure who he blames more.

She is killing him. He nearly died the night she did, and he got a call. Now he gets even less, and he can't help it, he still cares. He'd wanted to talk to her before, but she'd asked for space, through Stefan no less. That had hurt.

He glares at the letter placed next to him. He should read it and get it over with. It's not like it'll do any good, he thinks. He's not going anywhere. He's always been a glutton for punishment, and he's got eternity to be miserable. It could be worse.

He picks up the piece of paper, and unfolds it. His skin tingles a bit, almost as if he knows; knows she's about to unravel him all over again. Sometimes that ends with her brother lying dead on her floor, sometimes (usually) with him alone and miserable.

Taking a deep breath, he focuses in on the messy cursive.

"_Dear Damon,_

_I don't know what to tell you. Death isn't all I imagined it to be. It's not as bad as I thought it would be, but in some ways, it's even more daunting. I hadn't really given life after death all that much thought, for all the times I was a sacrificial lamb. Funny how that worked out. I'm not sure how to feel about all of this. _

_I do know...I miss you. There are so many things I want to say to you, but I don't know. I don't know if I could, even if I tried. Everything is so messy, isn't it? And I'm sorry. I know you're rolling your eyes right now, and I know you're upset, but I don't want to lose you. But I won't keep you either, not when it brings you pain. _

_I hope you're doing okay. I am, for the most part. Stefan has been helping me, and things are good. I'm alive. I know there are things I'll never be able to get...Or experience, but we take what we can get, right? I think of everyone who died for me, and I'm not sure if I should be grateful for coming back, to honor their memory, or sad that all their efforts for my precious mortality were for nothing. Twisted, right?_

_I've been learning how to hunt, and I won't lie, it is disgusting and I now get all your jokes on Stefan. But it is better than killing innocent people. Sometimes Caroline or Stefan will bring me a blood bag from the hospital, we're making sure I'm easing into it. It tastes good. I hope you won't hold that nasty piece of information against me._

_I miss you, Damon. I don't have the words for it, but I feel like I can't see you, and I can't not see you. It's killing me. I do remember, you know, our first meeting. You told me you wanted me to get everything I want. I'm sorry to break it to you, but I don't think your wish came true. But it means something that you tried._

_You always did. I could really use a friend right now, and I don't want anyone else but you. But mostly, I just want to know you're okay. Okay. That's all I want, because I do care about you._

_Yours,_

_Elena."_

Damon gets off the bed, and grabs his leather jacket. He's had enough of this. He needs to see her. Walking down the stairs, he almost misses the person standing in their living room. Almost.

"Going somewhere?"

Damon turns around. "Is it any business of yours, brother?"

Stefan shrugs nonchalantly. "Just wondering. We don't talk that much these days."

Walking towards him, Damon chuckles. "And you can't imagine why? Don't play dumb, or I'll smash your teeth in again."

"You know that's not what Elena wants." Stefan warns him.

"And you know what she wants, right?" Damon glares at him. "Did she want to drown, or was that more of a helpful suggestion from you?"

Before he knows it, his little brother has him up against a wall. He laughs. It's too typical a setting for them. He's the big bad wolf, and Stefan's the chivalrous knight, defending the fair lady's honor. As usual.

"Elena wanted me to save Matt." Stefan whispers, enunciating each word with care. "I did. Just because you can't find it in you to respect her wishes, doesn't mean I can't."

His insides burn with fury as he grabs Stefan by the collar. "Just because you can't find it in you to love her enough to save her, doesn't mean I can't! That is the true distinction, brother."

"I do love her." Stefan breathes out.

He can't listen to this. Kicking his brother in the gut, he walks past him. "Then you should've protected her. You suck, Stefan."

Walking further away, he remembers one last thing. "Don't come here again. You moved out. Let's keep it that way."

* * *

Caroline kicks at a soda can. She adjusts the strap on her bag, placing it firmly against her shoulder, and begins the arduous walk home again. She hates school, she really does. She was born to be a beauty queen, and she's already a beauty. All she needs is a tiara and she's good to go, she muses.

She'll always be beautiful. A year ago, that was her heart's fondest dream. She wanted to be beautiful, adored by the masses. That's why she'd looked into broadcast journalism. Not that she cares about journalism, or current events, or work, but it could've been nice. People would've tuned in to see her.

No one sees her. Klaus had, and he'd used her naivete against her. God, how could she have been so stupid? It took murder, chaos, and a whole lot of torture for her to see it. Tyler, no, Klaus, had...Caroline closed her eyes. No, she doesn't want to think about it. Not anymore.

Stefan had seen it. He was the first one to see it, the one who had forced Bonnie to do something about it, just as Klaus was about to...Caroline still has nightmares about the stake headed for her chest. Taking a deep breath, she continues walking.

Just as she's about to pass the boarding house, she pauses. Just long enough to see the elder Salvatore running out in a hurry. He's clenching his knuckles, and she knows what it means. Stefan's home. Rolling her eyes at the typical burst of male testosterone, she begins the trek to the door.

She appreciates Damon's cold honesty, but honestly, she always preferred Stefan. She is biased for sure, but despite his flaws, Stefan does try. He's saved her more times than she can count, and she feels sorry for him. Maybe she shouldn't, but she does.

Sometimes, when she goes hunting with Stefan and Elena, she sees it. She sees the way Elena looks past him, only to smile encouragingly at him a few moments later. She sees the way Stefan smiles back at her, none the wiser, or simply refusing to see the signs. Elena isn't happy.

Opening the door, Caroline steps inside tentatively. She hears a groan from the living room, and spots him slumped on the floor. His hair is still ridiculous, she notes, but it suits him.

"You get in a fight?"

Stefan lets out a dry laugh. "You should see the other guy, Care."

She nods and smiles. She always liked that nickname. "I did. He was standing, very much unlike you."

Stefan picks himself up and greets her with an awkward wave. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to see how you were." Caroline replies easily. "And I could ask you the same thing. You're kind of persona non grata around here, if I remember correctly."

Stefan sits down on the stairs and she joins him. "Damon is never going to forgive me, Caroline."

"Well you did kind of let Elena drown."

Stefan guffaws and looks at her in disbelief. "Thanks for easing into it, Caroline, I really appreciate your sensitivity."

Caroline shrugs. "Why sugarcoat the truth? That's what you did. Now, luckily for you, Elena came back and joined our little V club. Beggars can't be choosers, and I'd much rather take broody, bloodsucking Elena over the pushing daisies kind. You should do what I do."

Stefan looks at her inquisitively, and she's surprised to see a small smile playing on his lips. "And that would be?"

"Deal." Caroline answers, as if it's the simplest thing in the world. "If Damon won't forgive you, then stop asking for his forgiveness. Move on."

Stefan sighs and looks down. "I haven't."

"You haven't what?"

He looks at her in shame. "Asked for his forgiveness."

Now she's just confused. "Why not?"

Stefan smiles without amusement. "Because if I do, I'll have to admit that I was wrong. And if I was wrong, why did I do it? What kind of a monster am I?"

She doesn't know what to say to that. No, she corrects herself, she knows what he needs to hear, but even she can't bear to bring all of his delusions down at once. She knows why Stefan "respects" Elena. It reminds her of the way she "respects" men. She is dependent on them, just as Stefan is on Elena.

He defines himself through her love. Her acceptance, her approval, her unconditional love...They give him hope. Hope that he isn't as disgusting and depraved as he thinks he is. He can live with her being dead, but he can't live with her not loving him. It's a twisted thought, and she wonders why she still feels sorry for him.

"Tyler and I weren't all that great together." She mutters slowly. "And then he was Klaus...And we were. I slept with him, and I knew something was different, and I didn't care. And now Tyler's dead."

He moves his hand, and he touches her knee softly. "There was nothing you could've done. Nothing."

She shakes her head. "That isn't the point, Stefan. I believed in the lie, because I'm a silly girl who can't deal with the world as it is. How pathetic is that? If you suck, then so do I."

Stefan looks down, and smiles slightly. "I don't think there's anything wrong with...hoping for better things. If we don't, what's the point? We're not getting any older."

"What do you hope for?" She can't help but ask.

Stefan smiles. "Peace."

Caroline nods. It's not a bad wish, she thinks. They could all benefit from some peace, after all the turmoil and bloodshed. Making up her mind, she gets up and extends her hand to him.

"Come on." She says. "Get up."

Stefan looks at her apprehensively. "What are you doing?"

Caroline huffs. "**We're **getting you the most peaceful Chai latte you've ever had."

"I should be getting home, Elena..."

"Elena can wait." Caroline cuts him off. "Seriously, either you come with me, or you cry and come with me."

She grins as he actually rolls his hazel eyes at her in mock exasperation. "Now that's just ridiculous, Caroline. You couldn't possibly make me cry."

"You are kind of heavy."

With a sigh, he reaches over and grabs her hand. She pulls him up, and starts leading him away from the house of horrors with newfound purpose. She has many regrets, and one of the biggest is not being there for him when Klaus was using him before. She was too busy with Tyler, and Matt, and cheerleading, and getting tortured by her dad.

She doesn't want to be a kiddie pool anymore. She wants to be the kind of person who helps their friends. Who sees them for who they are, and doesn't cower away in fear at the sight of something unseemly. She doesn't want to be scared anymore.

* * *

"Found you." He whispers in her ear.

Elena gasps and turns around quickly. "Damon."

"Isn't this the part where you skedaddle?"

It's the first time he's been able to catch her. Wherever he tracks her, he's moments late and all he can do is imagine the things she's been doing. Why she let him catch her this time, he doesn't know. Or care. Seeing her for the first time after such a long time is a revelation.

Almost as if in slow motion, she looks up at him through her lashes, her eyes widen a fraction, and her pulse quickens. It causes him physical pain not to kiss her. Instead, he gives her what he assumes is a pained grimace and a small nod.

He looks down and sees the ring on her finger, the one Bonnie made for her before her departure. It only serves to remind him that she's changed.

Elena sits down on the bridge, and lets her legs dangle off the edge. Looking down, he sees her smile, before she looks up at him. "I won't bite, Damon."

Rolling his eyes at her bad pun, he sits down beside her. "So the newbie's cocky."

She shakes her head. "I've been learning how to repress myself."

Damon takes a deep breath, feeling the familiar tinglings of familial rage taking over him. Fucking Stefan. "Three guesses where you got that from."

Elena sighs. "Damon...It's not that bad. It's what I need. Control."

He can't listen to this. He gets up and starts walking away. Screw her. Why is everyone under the impression that he is the unhinged one? Stefan is the one they should be worried about, and no one listens to him!

Just as he's reaching the end of the bridge, he feels her pull him back by her arm. He turns around and glares at her.

"Damon..." She sighs, hurt visible in her eyes.

Damon shakes his head. "I can't do this, Elena."

Her lip trembles. "Why?"

"Because I love you. And it's killing me." He doesn't look at her. "I want to help you, but you shut me out. There's no room for me in your life anymore."

"So you're leaving?" She's openly crying now.

He chuckles. "I can't leave, Elena, that's the sad part. I'm a moron."

"I don't think you are." She whispers quietly. "I need you, Damon."

"Why?" He asks her urgently.

Elena shrugs and hugs herself lightly. "I don't know...I've lost almost everyone I...And I feel so disjointed from everything, and you're the one I...need."

"That's not good enough." He wishes it was, but it's not.

She wipes the tears from her eyes and glares at him. "Is this about Stefan?"

"Of course it's about Stefan!" He yells at her. He can't take this anymore. "It is always about Stefan, Elena! You do everything he tells you to do, you don't even get mad at him for killing you! What the hell is the matter with you?"

"It's my life, Damon! Stefan's a big part of that, and..."

"I was trying to protect you!" He cuts her off. "I tried so hard to save you, I was there for you, and you used me."

Elena shakes her head vehemently. "Never. I never used you. You shouldn't have..."

"Shouldn't have what?" He shouldn't ask, but it's not like he could stop himself.

"You shouldn't have put me on the spot."

He feels his heart break all over again. Reaching over, he smoothes some of her chestnut locks away from her face, and cups her cheek. "Don't blame me for not being able to love me, Elena. As of now, I don't deserve it."

Elena closes her eyes, and leans into his touch for a fraction of a second, before she looks at him once more with hurt doe eyes. "Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"That I love you?" He asks dryly. "Get with the times, Elena, it's all anyone's been talking about for over a year now."

"Cut the crap, Damon," She sighs. "Why didn't you tell me about our first meeting?"

He should've. It was wrong to keep it from her, they had been too close for secrets like that. But the memory was his, and a cherished one at that, and telling her would've ruined the purity of the encounter. He still remembers the way her lips curled upwards flirtatiously, as she challenged him with her words. It had been perfect.

"Because it wouldn't have done any good. It wouldn't have mattered." He admits softly.

"Yes, it would've!" Elena cries out. "I met you first, we..."

"We what?"

"We connected, Damon."

He looks at her and chuckles. "We always did, Elena. You just didn't see it, because your mind was made up. You're not a trophy. I can't just say I had dibs on you and expect Stefan to hand you over to me in gift wrapping."

"I wish this wasn't so hard." She sighs.

"It is what it is, Elena." He shrugs. "You love Stefan, he loves you, and I'll deal."

Elena nods. Slowly, she looks up at him with pained eyes again. "And if things were different?"

Looking into her pleading eyes, he knows she desperately needs an answer. "If things were different, I would be good to you and make you as happy as I could."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

This time, she moves all too fast as she wraps her arms around his waist, and presses her head against his chest. His entire body goes rigid, before he realizes what this is. This is goodbye. The last time he'll be this close to her.

Slowly, and for the first time, he embraces her in the comfort of his arms, and he hates himself for getting emotional and wishing for time to stop. Almost immediately, she looks up at him and smiles sadly.

"That's what I always loved about you."

She's miles away when her words finally register in his head, and he hates himself just a little more.

* * *

Just as she's about to knock on her best friend's door, she hears it. The thing she's dreaded ever since her 15h birthday, when her dad finally decided to come out of the closet. There's nothing worse than being in the middle of a fighting couple, and she almost walks away until she begins hearing parts of the conversation. So what, she's curious.

"Elena, you have to eat!" Stefan, Caroline recognizes his voice, yells.

She can almost hear Elena pacing the floor. "I am not hungry!"

"Please, I just want to help you."

"Yeah, you're doing such a fine job."

"I just don't see why..." She only hears a door get slammed shut, and then the one she's leaning up against opens, and she's on the floor.

"You shouldn't spy on people's private conversations." Stefan looks down at her wearily.

Caroline smiles at him innocently. "I was bringing over lunch, FYI. It's not my fault you two have no understanding of volume control."

Stefan extends a hand to her, and she reaches for it automatically. They've grown closer since their meeting at the boarding house a few weeks back. She feels like they just might be friends again, and she appreciates it. He pulls her up, and she pulls the two blood bags from her bag.

"Wanna drink them juicebox-style?" She grins at him. He hates it when she talks about it that callously.

She steps inside the house just as he shuts the door behind her. "I'm worried about Elena. She won't eat, she's moody, she seems to hate me..."

Caroline looks at him disbelievingly. "Elena doesn't hate you. She's been through a lot. Just give her time, she'll tell you what she needs."

Stefan shrugs. "I hope you're right."

"I almost always am, you know." She sticks her tongue out.

Stefan smiles. "How are you always this happy?"

"I'm not." She answers bluntly. "I just can't sit around moping over things I have no control over."

"I get that." He nods. "Listen, I need to go run some errands. Can you go up and talk to Elena? I think she could use a friend."

"Yeah, absolutely."

Stefan mutters his thanks, before walking out of the door. Caroline looks up at the stairs with a sigh, and starts walking. People don't give her enough credit, she decides, she really can be quite attentive to detail when she wants to be.

Beyond that, she knows Elena Gilbert like she knows her worn pair of Manolo kitten heels, and she knows the girl still isn't happy. She also knows they're all teetering on the precipice of finding out what will make her happy, and she's scared of the aftermath.

Opening the door, she sees Elena hugging her knees to her chest and feels her heart well up with sympathy for the girl. She has lost everything, and she's still here, struggling to maintain control. Caroline thinks none of them have control, not anymore.

Sitting down beside her, she wraps her arm around the tiny brunette's shoulders, and she immediately sobs into her chest. "Still down with mono?"

Elena laughs through her tears. "I did compel a few teachers, I think that's the real reason for that excuse working as well as it has."

Caroline pets her hair softly. "Please talk to me, Elena. I'm worried about you."

Elena shakes her head. "I don't think I can tell you."

"Elena, I semi-accidentally had sex with the supervillain who ruined all our lives. I think we've reached a place free of shame."

Sitting cross-legged, Elena wipes her cheeks and looks at her guiltily. "Care, can you promise me you won't tell Stefan?"

Caroline nods immediately. She feels a strange kinship with Stefan, but her loyalty will ultimately always be with Elena. Hoes over bros, and all that. "I promise."

Elena stands up abruptly and rakes a hand through her messy hair. "God, this is awful..."

"Elena, just tell me." Caroline gives her best puppy eyes with her begging. They usually bring home the pot.

Elena stops and stares at her with eyes as wide as saucers. "Caroline, I made a mistake. I didn't pick Damon when I should've picked him."

She can't say she's too surprised. "I kind of always thought so."

Elena paces the floor of the room again. "Caroline, I can't live with this! I sleep next to Stefan, and I'm disgusted with myself. And then I think of leaving him, and I'm disgusted all over again. I can't be like her, I just can't. I'm already a vampire, I can't be like Katherine!"

Sighing, Caroline pulls her bag open and grabs the bag of O-neg. "We'll eat and talk."

Elena sits down beside him and grabs the bag. With shaky hands, she reaches for the opening as Caroline observes her. Tears well up in Elena's eyes as her fangs come out, and as the familiar veins dance across her upper face. She understands the shame. Elena will get over it. Taking a small sip, the brunette visibly grows lax.

"Better?"

Elena nods. "Thank you."

Caroline sips at her own bag calmly. "No biggie. But Elena, you have to explain this to me."

"I can't explain it, Caroline." Elena shrugs. "I feel wrong."

"Why now?" She presses on. "You haven't talked about or to Damon in months. What happened to you?"

Elena sighs. "I don't think anything happened, not really. I made a poor choice. Care, my life was spiraling out of control at that time, and Stefan had always been there and..."

"No." Caroline cuts her off. "I love Stefan, but you're wrong. It's the other way around. You were there for Stefan, always, and he was usually the reason why your life spiralled. Sometimes literally, Elena. You didn't owe him a thing."

"Then why do I feel this way?" She asks.

Caroline knows exactly what she's feeling. It's called guilt, and it's rather overpowering, as she's come to find out. "Elena, I don't know what to tell you. You need to make a choice."

"I already chose, Caroline." Elena mutters with conviction. "I can't just change my mind as I go along, it's not fair to any of us. I love Stefan, and we can still be happy together."

"Even though you're in love with his brother?" She raises her eyebrows, not believing what she's hearing.

Elena wipes fresh tears away from her eyes. "What does it even matter? I'll get over it, someday...I have time, you know."

Frustrated, Caroline steps off the bed and gathers her things. "I wanna help you, Elena, but I really can't. You and Stefan both deserve better than this shit."

She starts walking away, feeling the familiar curlings of bloodlust in the pit of her belly. The kind that bagged blood won't fix. She needs to calm herself down.

"Caroline?"

Stopping at the door, she turns around and frowns at the broken girl on the bed. "What?"

"You said you loved him." Elena says quietly. "When did that happen?"

Caroline has no answer. Had she actually said that? "I don't know, Elena, but I do. I think he needs someone to love him, even if that someone can't and shouldn't be you."

With that, she walks out, scared to look back and see her best friend's face.

* * *

"I heard the craziest rumor the other day." He whispers in her ear. He's drunk, and he can smell the alcohol on her too.

Elena turns around, clutching her pool cue sloppily. She grins. "Damon!"

Before he can stop her, she has her arms wrapped around his neck, and she's giggling like a fool. It reminds him of the time they visited Bree. She was mad at Stefan then, and willing to let him in, and he had loved every second of it. He had definitively seen that she was nothing like Katherine. She had a spirit and an uncontrollable energy to her, that the other woman couldn't hold a candle to.

Now, standing inside the Mystic Grill, it's all coming back to him. She lets go of him and looks up at him excitedly.

"Well?" She nudges him. "What did you hear?"

Leaning in conspiratorially, he whispers,"I heard you love me."

Elena rolls her eyes, and bends her body over the pool table. He resists the urge to check her body out, despite the tank top and denim mini skirt she's wearing. "Caroline really can't keep her mouth shut, can she?"

He furrows his brows. "Caroline didn't tell me anything. You did, remember?"

Elena stumbles back up after taking another shot, and looks at him through hooded eyes. "Oh. I'm sorry, my bad."

He waves a hand. He isn't even sure why he isn't letting the girl get on with her drinking. So what, she loves him. She loves Stefan more. Everyone always did. Even their parents had seen Stefan as the second coming. At least he has more game, he notes.

Just as she's bending over the table again, he throws caution to the wind and follows her example. Slowly, so slow that she doesn't notice it at first, he presses himself against her, as he guides her hand on the pool cue. Softly, he encircles her smaller fingers with his own, relishing the way her breathing quickens, and helps her make the shot.

Elena gasps in wonder, and he still isn't letting her go. She looks at him, and their faces are too close, and he knows he would only have to move an inch or two...

"Damon?" Elena whispers.

"Yeah?"

She licks her lips. He notices, and now he can't stop staring at them. "Do you want to play with me?"

A flurry of pornographic images flicker through his mind, and he clears his throat. "Yeah, sure."

As he's come to find, he really is a glutton for punishment. He knows she isn't his, but he has these moments. These stolen, erased moments where she yearns for his company and makes him feel worthy of hers. These moments make all the other lonely days and nights worth it.

Damon takes another shot of tequila as his hand slips on the cue again. He groans in defeat. He'd never been good at the stupid game, and Elena's even better now with her heightened senses.

"You missed again!" She jumps up and down happily.

He rolls his eyes. "Shut up."

Elena scores another shot and smirks at him lazily. "Sorry, but I think you're drunk. Do you want me to call you a cab?"

"I do not need a cab," He gasps in mock outrage.

Elena gives him an evil grin. "Do you need a bib then?"

"Oh so you do remember that night?" Damon smiles back at her fondly.

Elena struts over to him, cue in hand, and jabs him in the chest playfully. "Of course. How could I ever forget what a lightweight you were."

"Yeah, but do you remember what you did after you saved me from becoming barbecue?" Damon's eyes glint dangerously and Elena gasps in shock.

"Oh gosh!" She smacks a hand to her forehead. "I forgot all about that, you promised not to tell anyone!"

"And I haven't, though what you did at that McDonald's drive-in was pretty cool." He chuckles.

"At least you held my hair for me." Elena smiles brightly at him.

"That I did," He nods in confirmation. "And I would again, just so you know."

"Just for me?" She pouts. She doesn't look like Katherine to him, she looks like Elena.

"Just for you." He confirms.

Elena grins and leans her shoulder against his chest. Almost involuntarily, he breathes in her scent, and sighs in happiness. He wishes things would work out, but he's not holding his breath. Grabbing his shoulders, she steadies herself, before bringing her mouth to his neck.

"I'd hold your hair for you too." She mutters against his skin.

Damon smiles, not being able to help himself. "Just for me?"

She pauses for a moment before answering. "Just for you."

"Elena!" Someone yells from the distance.

Damon groans as he recognizes the voice, and he imagines the many ways he could fillet his brother. Turning around and supporting Elena's weight, he sees Stefan glaring daggers at him. Stefan reaches them in two strides, and grabs Elena.

"Elena, I've been looking all over for you." He mutters frantically. "Why haven't you answered my calls?"

Elena rolls her eyes and pushes her hands against his chest. "Sorry, dad. I must've forgotten to check my phone."

"I was just worried for you..." Stefan's eyes fill with hurt, and Damon can't help but live in the moment. The moment is glorious.

Elena pushes past him. "I'll be outside. Bye, Damon."

Damon waves at her retreating form, until he's shoved up against a wall again. "Again, Stefan? This is getting a little too homoerotic, even for you."

Stefan pushes him against the wall tighter, ignoring the hushed murmurs of the other patrons. "Damon, this is the last time. The absolute last time I find you dragging Elena down to your level."

Damon grins. "I hate to break it to you, but your little princess sure does like slumming it. Maybe she's tired of you."

He doesn't believe that, but he knows there's a part of Elena that Stefan can't touch, and that's good enough.

"Stay away from her, Damon. She's been through a lot, all you'll do is confuse her even further."

Damon groans, before flipping the tables on his brother. Two seconds later, it's Stefan that's being pushed against the wall. "Elena is not confused! She is miserable! You can't see the difference, because you know when you will, you'll see how poisonous you've been to her."

"You don't know anything about our relationship." Stefan whispers.

"I know a lot about her." Damon lets him go with one last shove. "And I do want her to be happy."

"And I don't?" Stefan counters.

Damon picks up his last shot and downs it. "I really don't know. I think you care more about her being happy with you than about her actually being happy."

Stefan shakes his head. "You're wrong. You're both wrong."

Stefan walks out, and Damon wonders who else has managed to peg down his brother as well as he has.

* * *

"Damn it!" Caroline slams her hand down on her locker door. The lock is jammed, and the only way to open the damn thing is to rip it open and ruin her freshly manicured nails. Superpowers or not, that kind of manual labor isn't for her.

Turning around with a sigh, she lets out a soft yelp as she collides with a firm chest.

"Stefan!" She gasps out. "Can you just get a bell and wear it around your neck? You're lurky!"

"Lurky?" He raises his eyebrows.

"Yes!" Caroline nearly yells out. "You're too quiet, it's very disturbing, you know."

Stefan nods, as if taking her words into consideration. She takes the time to look him over, and notices a few changes. He has dark circles under his eyes. That doesn't surprise her. He's also lost weight, and he looks even more malnourished than usual.

Her eyes soften slightly. "Are you okay?"

He nods again. "Yeah, I just had this dumb idea, and then I came here, and I was very...dumb."

She nods slowly, trying to follow his train of thought. "Just tell me."

Scratching his head like a lost puppy, he looks at her with his beautiful hazel eyes, and in that moment, she knows she's a goner. She'll do whatever he wants her to do, because she's been him. She loves Elena, and Elena loves Damon, and Damon loves Elena too, and no one loves Stefan. Except for her. And Damon sometimes, but not right now. She knows what it's like.

"Would you like to go get coffee?" He asks, his eyes wide and nervous. "With me?"

Caroline rolls her eyes. "Come on, you big dork. You can tell me all about it."

She doesn't look back, but she knows he's following her, and not just because of her super hearing. It's comforting, really. Rarely has she ever felt a similar security with another person. She knows she can count on Stefan for the same reason he keeps coming back to her; they have an understanding.

As they sip their coffees inside the small coffee shop, she anxiously waits for him to tell her what's bothering him. She has a pretty good guess, but she knows what they say about assuming.

"What do you think about me and Elena?" Stefan cuts off her train of thought.

Caroline looks at him blankly. He is so transparent. "As people? Well, I think you both brood a little too much, but overall..."

"You know what I mean." Stefan gives her a pointed look.

Caroline shrugs. "Why do you want my opinion?"

"Because I trust you." Stefan says casually. "You always give it to me straight."

She bites her lip, feeling like scum. "I don't really know what to say."

"Care, just tell me." He gives her his best puppy eyes, and damn it, his puppy eyes are better than hers. And hers are really good.

She crumbles some of the cupcake in front of her. "Honestly? I never saw you two as all that compatible."

"Why not?"

"Well..." She tries her best to find the right words. "You're both so stubborn. You try so hard to make sure everything is fine, that you can't even admit that everything isn't fine. You just hurt yourselves to make sure no one else is hurting, but then everyone is hurting. Or something."

She cringes as she realizes just how honest she had been. Stefan doesn't see her predicament, and takes another sip of his coffee.

"I don't think everything is fine, Caroline." He finally says it out loud, and she knows he's been dying to say it for months. She knows him.

Reaching over, she grabs his hand just like she always does, and she rubs soothing circles over his knuckles. "Come on. It's not that bad, Stefan. You've made mistakes, and so has she, but you love each other."

Slowly, he lets his thumb glide across her skin and reciprocates the motion. She smiles up at him, and he smiles back, and for a moment she forgets everything. The moment is glorious.

"You're so good at that, you know." He muses with a small smile.

"Good at what?" She grins.

Stefan looks up at him, his eyes glowing in that special way. "Good at making me feel better. Or simpler."

She nods and grins to herself. She can't even focus on the fact that they're still holding hands. No one ever says anything nice to her, at least not just for the sake of saying it. He was always the only one, and he still is. She's glad to see he still believes in her.

"I'm glad, Stefan." She really is. "You're my friend, and I want you to be happy." She really does.

"And what about you?"

"What about me what?"

Stefan laughs. "Are you happy?"

Caroline takes a moment to ponder the question. She's not unhappy. It's been several months since the incident with her and Klaus, and the guilt she feels is slowly fading into a dull throbbing. Things could be worse. Hell, things have been way worse.

"I don't know." She admits. "I can't decide if not fighting for my life counts as being happy. How should I know?"

Stefan looks at him gently. "You just will. One day, you'll wake up and you'll feel complete. At peace. That's where you'll find your happiness."

"Okay then, Confucius." She mocks his pseudo-psychology.

Stefan rolls his eyes. "You wound me. Don't you trust my advice?"

Taking a moment to dramatically think it over, Caroline shakes her head. "Nope, sorry. You give shitty advice, we have bundles of empirical evidence. Also, you look suspicious."

"No, I don't." Stefan makes a face at her.

Caroline nods seriously. "You really, really do."

Moving as fast as she can, she slams the cup cake against his face and smears it all over his skin. Bringing her hands to her mouth, she giggles as he stares at her in shock, his face covered in frosting and crumbs. He looks even more adorable as he licks some of the frosting out of the corner of his mouth.

"You're gonna pay for this." He points at her accusingly, but his eyes sparkle with mirth, and she doesn't care.

She knows she can expect to get floured any day now, but as she bursts into a hysterical fit of giggles, she really doesn't care. All of a sudden it hits her. She isn't waiting. She isn't waiting for that special one day that Stefan had mentioned. It's here, and she's happy, and it's because of him.

And she's in love with him.

* * *

"Damon Salvatore speaking, if I have ever met you before, I probably don't want to meet you again..."

"Damon, I need to talk to you." Caroline cuts him off on the phone.

"Do you finally wanna bond then?" He asks, referring to their last conversation.

"No!" She rolls her eyes.

"Are you sure? Cause bondage seems like a lot of fun, I've been reading this 50 Shades of Grey book, and really..."

"Eww." She cuts him off again. "This is really important, and I'm gonna regret this later, so get here now before I chicken out."

He hangs up, and she curses him to the lowest depths of hell. This was a bad idea, but he was at least supposed to listen to her. He deserved the truth, she'd come to realize. Exactly 12 seconds later, she hears a knock at the front door.

Opening the door, he walks in as if he owns the place. "Talk, time is money."

"That's it?" Caroline raises an eyebrow at him as they enter her room. "You're not even going to say hello?"

Damon rolls his eyes at her. "Sorry, I'm all out of courtesies today. What did you wanna talk about?"

She crosses her arms across her chest. "Sit down on my bed."

Jumping on his bed, he grins up at her wickedly. "I knew this was a kinky thing!"

Ready to strangle him, she finally lets out the secret she's been guarding for a few months now. "Elena is in love with you!"

He stills on her bed and glares at her. "Why would you say something like that?"

"Because it's the truth!" She grits out. "I am so sick of you emotionally damaged freaks, you're all slowly driving me insane!"

"And you're sure this isn't just a side effect of peroxide seeping into your brain?"

Caroline glares at him again. "She told me, Damon. She said she made the wrong call, and now she can't back out because she doesn't want to be like Katherine."

"I don't buy that." He gets off her bed and starts walking towards the doorway. "Elena isn't stupid. She wouldn't..."

"Sacrifice her own happiness for the sake of someone else's?" Caroline smirks at him. "She chose Stefan, because that's what felt safer at the time. It had nothing to do with how she felt."

"She's just saying that." He shakes his head. "I don't know if she told you this, but the first time she and I met, I compelled her to forget. That's what's influencing her thoughts, knowing that I was first. She just feels obligated to string me along a little further."

Caroline bites her lip. "You are such an idiot, Damon! That's how you interpreted it? She didn't face up to her feelings now because she found out you were first, but because she realized you took yourself out of the running right from the get-go. You didn't fight for her, and if you had, she would've picked you!"

"I fought for her for over a year, and she turned me down!" He yells, and Caroline doesn't back down.

"You lied to her." Caroline sighs. "And now she's with Stefan."

Damon looks at her blankly, before nodding. "Okay."

She glares at him. "Seriously? You know what, forget it! They are never going to break up!"

He chuckles to himself. "I get it now."

She looks up at him through narrowed eyes. "What?"

"You want them to break up, don't you?" Damon grins. "You wanna steal your best friend's boyfriend. Pretty classy, even for you."

Caroline sighs. She'd forgotten how well Damon can read her. "It's not like that, Damon. You don't understand how miserable they are together."

"I don't hear you denying it." Damon quips. "I've seen the way you look at him, Barbie. Kinda sickens me."

Caroline raises her eyebrows at him. "Oh, like the way you look at Elena?"

Picking up her school bag, she begins pushing her way past him. "Forget it, Damon. They're never gonna break up. Not on their own."

Before she can reach her frontdoor, he's in front of her again, and clutching her shoulders. "Do you love him?"

Caroline looks anywhere but at him. "Damon, I have school..."

"I asked you a question. Do you love him?"

She nods helplessly. She does. She really, really does, and she has no clue when it happened. After all the smoke and rubble has been cleared away, Stefan is the one of the only constants in her life. He has always been there for her, and now? She needs that to never change. As crazy as it is, he makes her want to be a better person, even when he assures her that she's good enough.

Damon nods back at her. "Then you fight for him...Cause I'm sure as hell gonna fight for her. Do you understand me?"

"I understand..." She answers him even as she feels her mind filling with dread. She's been here before. She wants to be a good friend, but as she points out to herself, helping Damon and Elena get together is being a good friend. And if she can make Stefan happy, that's just a bonus, since he's never happy.

"So...We're gonna help each other, right?"

Damon looks at her as if she's mentally challenged for a moment. "Right...Look, just get Elena to come to the Grill tonight. At seven."

"What do you want me to do?" Caroline asks.

Damon grins. "Just deliver the package, and I'll do my part."

Caroline rolls her eyes as he leaves with a theatrical skip to his step. He can be so ridiculous, but somehow, she's pretty sure he's exactly what her friend needs.

* * *

Stefan opens the door, and his eyes widen as he sees his brother standing on his girlfriend's porch.

"Get in, loser, we're going shopping." Damon says.

"Are you drunk?" Stefan asks.

"Nope." Damon answers quickly. "You're coming with me. Come on, time's a wastin'."

"Why?" Stefan looks suspicious, and Damon has to quell the urge to punch him again.

"Just do it. Please. For the sake of long lost brotherhood or whatever."

Stefan narrows his eyes and studies him for a moment, before nodding. A few minutes later, they're sitting in his Chevy Camaro.

"Are you even going to tell me where we're going?" Stefan asks, frustrated.

Damon shrugs. "Nope. You're on a need-to-know basis, just trust me."

In a few moments, Stefan realizes where they are. Damon sees his jaw clench as they sit in the car, staring out at the bridge.

"This is why you brought me out here?" Stefan sighs. "I can't do this anymore, Damon. What's done is done."

Damon nods beside him. "You're right. What's done is done. Which is why you're going to stop living in the past, and call things off with Elena."

Stefan rests his head against his seat, and pinches the bridge of his nose. "You have got to be kidding me. Damon, I love her."

"I love her more." There's no doubt about it, he's sure of it. "And if we're going by blondie's intel, Elena loves me."

Stefan perks up at that. "Caroline? Why would she say something like that?"

"Because Elena told her." Damon sighs. "Out of some misguided loyalty to you, Elena is putting off her own happiness and staying with you, even when she's in love with me."

His brother shakes his head. "Elena would never lie like that."

"Oh really?" Damon raises his eyebrows. "How's your relationship with her? Does she let you touch her, or does she run from you every chance she gets?"

He knows he's being brutal with his brother. He also knows his brother only responds to brutality, being a master of delusion and all. He sees Stefan shaking his head.

"If what you're telling me is even true..."

"It is."

"...I don't know if I can let her go, Damon." Stefan sighs. "She is the one good thing in my life."

"For the love of all that is holy, you let her drown!" Damon yells and hits the steering wheel out of frustration. "That good thing you two had is long gone. You do have one good thing in your life. You know, she's blonde, kinda reminds you of a chihuahua, but then she starts talking and it's more like she's a pitbull..."

"Caroline?" Stefan grins. "Caroline's a friend, Elena's friend!"

"She cares about you, Stefan." Damon says, not willing to sell the blonde out completely. "More than you know, and maybe it's time you stopped clinging to Elena like a barnacle and saw that."

Stefan slumps down further on his seat, and takes a deep breath. "I don't know what to do. I don't know who I am without her. How do I just move on from that?"

"By realizing that you have to." Damon says quietly.

Stefan nods. "Maybe you're right."

"Or I'll punch you really hard in the throat." Damon finishes his thought.

Stefan glares at him. "You're such a dick, you know that? I don't deserve this."

Damon cracks his knuckles in warning. "Listen carefully now. For as much as I hate you, I also do love you, and a part of me will always hate myself for it. And I do want you to be happy. I'm giving you the chance to be free. Let her go, and be happy, Stefan. Please. Before you really will kill her."

Stefan is quiet for a long moment, and Damon knows he did the right thing in appealing to their bond. It is complicated, and often dysfunctional, but he knows they'll never get rid of it either. Finally, Stefan shakes his head in disbelief and gives him a small smile.

"I want you to be happy too, Damon." Stefan concedes. "I'm not happy with Elena and she isn't happy with me. I blame myself. But if you can make her happy, then I want you to give it your all, because she deserves that."

"I will." Damon says, and he has never meant anything more. "Break up with her."

"Now?"

Damon rolls his eyes. "Not right now, no. I'm going to drive you home, and you're going to do it then. She still working the mono excuse?"

Stefan shrugs. "No, she just has the flu now. Caroline brings most of her homework to her."

Damon resists the urge to criticize the way Stefan's been helping Elena, and focuses on the key point. "Good, she's at home then."

Starting his car, he begins the drive back to the Gilbert house, and as peculiar as it is, he doesn't resent his brother quite as much. As they reach the house, Stefan opens the door, but doesn't step out.

"Damon?"

He turns to face his brother. "Yeah?"

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it." He replies tensely. "Seriously, don't mention this conversation to her."

Stefan walks inside the house, and Damon drives away. For the first time in a long time, he has hope. He is hopeful.

* * *

Caroline knocks on Elena's door, feeling jittery. She has no idea what Damon has done, or what she should be expecting to find. She's even more nervous when Elena opens the door with a smile.

"Hi." Caroline waves awkwardly.

Elena rolls her eyes. "Come in, you freak."

Elena walks inside the house, and Caroline follows, wondering if her friend has finally cracked under the pressure. "Is Jeremy home?"

"Nope." Elena answers swiftly.

"And Stefan?"

Elena stills just as they enter the kitchen. She turns around and faces Caroline, biting her lip. "Actually...Stefan and I broke up."

Without waiting for Caroline's reaction, Elena picks up a rag and begins to wipe the kitchen counter. Caroline is too busy trying to locate her jaw on the floor.

"Wow, uhmm...Are you okay?"

Elena shrugs. "As bad a person as it might make me, I'm relieved. I can just...be."

Caroline nods. "I get that. But you know what you need?"

Elena narrows her eyes apprehensively. "What?"

"A girls' night!" Caroline claps her hands together. "Come on, it'll be so much fun."

Elena rolls her eyes. "I don't know, Care. You sure that's such a good idea?"

Caroline nods. "Trust me on this."

At exactly 7 pm, they step inside the Grill, dressed to the nines. Elena tugs down her small red dress, and Caroline glares at her.

"You'll stretch the fabric!" Caroline whines.

Elena throws her a glare back. "That's the point. This thing is like a table napkin!"

"You look hot, deal with it." Caroline sighs and tries to locate Damon with her eyes. No such luck. "I need to use the restroom."

It's the perfect excuse, despite Elena yelling at her about how she already went a few minutes ago. She runs towards the restrooms, before making a mad dash for the exit. Elena's never had a keen eye for detail, thankfully, and she slips past the other vampire's radar.

As she exits the restaurant, she spots a familiar mop of hair sitting on the steps. Walking a few steps down, she smooths her skirt and sits down beside him.

"I heard you and Elena broke up."

Stefan's shoulders shake as he lets out a small laugh. "Yeah, I think we did. I think it's for the best."

Caroline shrugs with a small smile. "Good for you. Though you really shouldn't start your bachelor days in there, cause she's about to get her freak on, and talk about awkward..."

"You really have a way with words, you know that?"

Luckily for her, he's still grinning, so she grins back and bumps her shoulder against his. She likes this, the simplicity of their interactions. Everything else is messy, but sharing a joke and a cup of coffee with him is surprisingly natural. She needs that feeling.

"You wanna get coffee?" She asks. "I know it's late and all, but we're eternally damned, so I think we can live on the edge."

"Like a date?"

Her heart stops beating when he looks at her with his eyes trying to penetrate her soul. "No, I didn't mean it as a date or anything. Not that there'd be anything wrong with that, but I mean you just broke up with my best friend, and don't you think you're rushing into things just a little bit, and have some common sense, will-"

His lips are on hers before she can finish her sentence. She closes her eyes and breathes him in, and his lips softly move against her, before pulling away. Much too soon, her slutty little mind adds. Stefan looks at her with hazy eyes, and nods to himself several times, as if he's reached some new and fascinating conclusion.

"Okay." She takes a deep breath. "That was new."

Stefan nods again pensively. "I wanted to see if I could shut you up."

"You did."

"Mission accomplished."

"Yay."

Caroline pulls her hair behind her ears, feeling awkward again. As wonderful as it was to finally experience what being with him could be like, she doesn't want it like this. She won't be his Elena rebound.

"Listen..." She starts.

"Wait." Stefan cuts her off and reaches for her hand again. "Caroline, this year has been crazy. And you're right, I did just break up with Elena. I don't think I'm ready for another relationship for a while. I think I need to work on myself. So..."

"So?"

He shrugs again and pouts, and he looks adorable. "I was just wondering, if later on, you could maybe consider going out with me or something. You know, like on a date?"

Her smile threatens to split her face. "I know what you meant. And yes."

"Yes?" He looks away from her, and she can see a small pink sheen coloring his cheeks.

"Yes, I will go out with you after you deal with your emotional scarring." Caroline rolls her eyes.

Stefan nods. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Caroline replies easily. "But in the meantime..."

"What did you have in mind?"

Caroline shrugs. "Coffee."

"What are we waiting for then?" Stefan gets up and extends his hand to her, and she picks it up. He pulls her up, but doesn't give her hand back.

Caroline looks at him wearily. "Easy there, grandpa. We're in no rush."

Ignoring her blatant ageism, Stefan continues to hold her hand and smiles. "I think you're right. We have time."

* * *

"We have got to stop meeting like this." He whispers in her ear, and grins when she simply chooses to cross her arms over her chest. She turns around and sighs.

"Damon, not tonight. It's been a long day and Caroline and I were just going to have a few drinks and relax."

"Yeah, about that..." Damon lets his voice trail off. "She's gone. But you get me in her place! Surprise!"

Elena groans. "What did she do? What did you do?"

He raises his arms in surrender. "I told Stefan to break up with you, and for Caroline to deliver you to my evil lair of evilness."

Elena lets out a rather uncharacteristic growl, and two seconds later, they're standing in an alley behind the Grill, and she's glaring daggers at him.

"What the hell is your problem?" Elena screams at him. The veins in her eyes are changing before his own. She really is mad.

Damon shrugs. "You needed this."

Shaking her head, Elena sighs wearily. "I can't do this, Damon."

Before she can turn away, he's cupping her face and staring into her eyes. "No. You're not going. Not before you tell me you're not in love with me."

Elena rolls her eyes and looks at the wall behind him. "Damon, stop. We can't do this."

"Do what?" He smirks. "Tell me you're not in love with me, and I'm gone. For good this time."

She groans in frustration and looks at him accusingly. "Why are you doing this to me?"

"It's the simplest request, really. Tell me."

For the first time, she looks straight into his eyes, more vulnerable than he's ever seen her. "I can't do that."

It's all he needs to hear. Pushing her against the wall, his mouth collides against hers just as she tangles her fingers in his hair. With a soft moan, she grows pliant in his arms as she allows him entrance in her mouth. Softly, he traces the caverns of her mouth with his tongue, even as she grinds her hips against his.

"Damon..." She moans.

He can only nod in response. "We need to get out of here."

They burst through the door to his room in a heap of tangled limbs, and Elena laughs even as they fall to the ground. He lies on top of her and brushes some of the hair away from her face, even as she continues to smile back at him angelically.

"Hi." He whispers.

"Oww." She sticks her tongue out.

Damon laughs and brings his mouth to her neck, kissing her pulse point lovingly, even as she continues to writhe beneath him. Slowly, she brings her hand to his belt buckle and he covers her hand with her own.

She looks up, her eyes wide with questions. "What is it?"

He curses himself for loving her. All it ever brings him is pain. "Are you sure?"

Elena looks up at him and shakes her head. "I'm not sure about anything, Damon. My life is a mess. But I'm sick and tired of trying to deny the truth. I want you. Just you."

Gently, she eases the belt off his narrow hips, before opening his jeans. Letting her hand trace down his smooth body, she finally wraps her fingers around him and he closes his eyes with a shudder. She is most definitely going to be the death of him, but what a lovely way to die, he thinks.

Returning his attention to her, he wraps his arms around her waist, and then she's lying on his bed giggling again. He thinks he's doing a pretty good job at making her happy thus far.

"I'll never get used to that." She sighs, before kissing him deeply once more and distracting him from replying.

He can feel himself aching between her legs, and as he eases the dress off her body, and gazes at her, he feels delirious with lust. She is the most beautiful thing he has ever seen, and she doesn't look like Katherine to him at all. There's an innocence to her eyes, even as she beckons him closer and wraps her leg around his waist. Her need for him is intoxicating.

Elena tugs his jeans off with frustration and immediately, she brings her hands to his waist and pulls his t-shirt over his head. Leaning closer to her, he looks into her eyes and sees it for the first time; the acceptance he's been denied for so long, and now, he can't help but think that it was worth it. This moment makes up for the rest.

"Tell me." He whispers.

She looks up at him, and the words roll smoothly from her tongue. "I love you."

Bringing his mouth to her collar bone, he begins to kiss every expanse of skin he can find. He wants to worship her. "Say it again."

"I love you," She moans, just as her back arches off the mattress.

Trailing his fingers down to the edges of her panties, he can feel how ready she is for him. Pulling the lacy garment off her body, he settles between the apex of her thighs once more, only to get overcome with feelings as she clasps their fingers, and kisses the corner of his mouth.

Looking to her for confirmation, he positions himself at her wet entrance, and when she finally nods her consent, they both cry out at the perfect fit of their bodies. Slowly rolling his hips against hers, he moves over her, matching her move for move. He loves every little thing she does.

Elena locks her legs around his waist more tightly, pulling him deeper into her, and he buries his face in the crook of her neck. Softly, he inhales her scent, and he doesn't even lash out as he feels her bite down on the tender skin of his neck. He loves it all, even the parts of her that she'll never come to terms with.

"I love you," He whispers against her skin, as her cries of pleasure grow more rapid.

Urged on by his quiet confessions of love, she brings her hands over to his back, and he groans as he can feel her nails biting into his skin. Thrusting harder inside of her, he gently laves the skin of her neck, losing himself under her spell for good.

Moving in unison, their sweat-slicked bodies meet time and time again, until he can finally feel her inner muscles clenching and unclenching around him. Moving his hand to where they're connected, he rubs her small button, until he finally hears her cry out his name, as she spasms beneath him. Gripping him with her inner muscles, he chases his own his climax and follows her only seconds later, before cradling her to his chest.

As unassumingly as possible, he reaches down to pull the covers over their naked bodies, and wraps his arms around her waist once more. To his (pleasant) surprise, she turns around and lays her head on his chest. He has no intention of stopping her.

"Damon?" She softly asks him.

He looks down at the girl lying on top of him, and he knows this is it. He is never leaving. "What?"

Elena is quiet for a moment, pondering her question. "What do you you think we should do now?"

"What do you want to do?"

The question comes naturally to him, and he knows it's one she finds hard to answer. All her life she has put others before her. He made a promise to Stefan, and he intends to keep it, and more. In the midst of his musings, he even finds himself grateful for Caroline and all she has done for him. He'll need to remember her, come Christmas.

Elena yawns. "I want to go to sleep."

"We can do that." He murmurs into her hair."

Elena nods against him. "And then tomorrow, I'd like to be with you."

"We can do that too."

As she falls asleep on him, he finds himself wide awake and smiling.

Yes, he has hope.

* * *

**AN: **That's that! Hope someone liked it! It's now 4am, so I'm gonna go to bed. Toodles, lovelies! *Chucks cookies EVERYWHERE*


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